Adjusting means for a slidable inner jaw wrench



c. FLAIG 2,914,980

ADJUSTING MEANS FOR A SLIDABLE INNER JAW WRENCH Filed Aug. 6, 1956United States Patent ADJUSTING MEANS FOR A SLIDABLE INNER JAW WRENCHChristian Flaig, Aldingen, Kreis Tuttlingen, Germany Application August6, 1956, Serial No. 602,348

6 Claims. (Cl. 81-145) The invention relates to a hand tool withmutually shiftable jaws for coarse and fine adjustment of the jawspacing. It is particularly applicable to wrenches.

Wrenches are known which consist of a flat handle piece provided on onefiat side with a set of inclined teeth and with a jaw at one end, and ofa sleeve element slid able on this handle piece, which it surrounds, andcarrying the other jaw, this sleeve element having a fine adjustmentmeans engaging the inclined teeth on the handle piece of the tool. Theknown fine adjustment means are mostly so constructed that they comprisea worm wheel engaging in the inclined teeth and arranged with its axisextending in the longitudinal direction of the handle piece of thewrench. Such wrenches are not very easy to manipulate because, in orderto operate the worm at least two fingers of one hand are required. Itmust also be possible to disengage the worm wheel to carry out a coarseadjustment. This construction presents a certain amount of diffioultyand is mostly objectionable from the point of view of manipulation.

The invention is characterized in that a slidable bar, shiftable byhand, is provided as the fine adjusting means on the sleeve element ofthe tool and carries a set of inclined teeth corresponding with theteeth on the handle piece and is guided at an angle to the set of teethon the handle piece. The slidable bar is so constructed that for coarseadjustment of the sleeve element it can be tilted in relation to theflat surface of the handle piece and can thus be brought out ofengagement with the teeth on the handle piece. The slidable bar ispreferably springloaded and held in engagement with the set of teeth bya spring so that the tilting or upward movement of the slidable bar mustbe effected against the force exerted by this spring. 7

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the tool;

Fig. 2 is an end view with the slidable bar in section;

Fig. 3 is a side view on a larger scale showing the sleeve-like toolpiece, partly in section to show the spring arrangement;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the sliding bar and Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of the detail of the slidable bar.

The references employed in the figures of the drawing designate thefollowing parts: 1 is the handle of the wrench which is of flatrectangular cross-section and 2 is a set of inclined teeth. The wrenchhandle 1 terminates at one end in a jaw 6 forming one jaw of the wrench.The wrench handle 1 is surrounded by a sleeve element 3 which isslidable and has a second jaw 7 to cooperate with jaw 6. A slidable bar4 is provided in the sleeve element 3 and is guided at an angle to theset of teeth 2, Fig. 1. This slidable bar 4 can easily be manipulatedand shifted by the actuating surfaces 14 and by means of the thumb orindex finger. The slidable bar 4 carries on its side facing the wrenchhandle 1, a set of teeth extending parallel to the set of teeth 2.Therefore if the slidice able bar 4 is pushed in its sliding direction,the sleeve element 3 is shifted in longitudinal direction relative tothe handle because the direction in which the bar 4 is slidable is notparallel to the direction of the inclined set of teeth. The slidable bar4 is shiftable in the sleeve element 3 so that its teeth can be broughtout of engagement with the set of inclined teeth 2 and the sleeveelement can be shifted on the handle for coarse adjustment. A wirespring 8 bent in U-shape acts against the edge of the slidable bar 4 andholds it in engagement with the teeth. The set of teeth is preferablyconstructed as a series of teeth With tooth channels steep on one sideand fiat on the other, so that for shifting the sleeve element 3 in thedirection for closing the jaws of the wrench it is only necessary toexert a force in the direction of the wrench handle from left to right,Fig. 1, which the slidable bar 4 automatically disengages sliding overthe teeth on the wrench handle. The jaw opening of the wrench defined bythe jaws 6 and 7 preferably extends at a slight angle to the horizontalrelatively to the jaw faces, the sliding direction of the bar 4 formingan acute angle with the jaw aperture.

On the side of the wrench handle 1 opposite the jaws a scale 9, Fig. l,is provided which in conjunction with the slightly flattened end edge 10of the sleeve element 3 can be used as a reading scale. In order toensure a correct adjustment of the element 3 relatively to the handle 1of the wrench a pressure spring 11 and a pressure pin 12 are provided ina suitable bore in the element 3 and which bears against the side faceof the handle 1. 13 designates the hole usually provided in a wrench toenable the wrench to be hung on a tool panel or board. The form ofconstruction of the wrench according to the invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawing is only taken by way of example for explaining thefundamental idea of the invention.

The slidable bar 4 is provided with a groove 16 which has a width equalto the rail 17 which borders the window-like aperture 18 provided in thesleeve-like wrench element 3. The groove 16 and rail 17 enable the slidebar to be tilted or swing only when they are in register, which is thecase in the initial position of the fine adjustment range of the wrench.If the slidable bar 4 is shifted further it can no longer swing upbecause the rail acts as a lock opposing the swinging movement so that acoarse adjustment cannot be effected.

The fine adjustment of the wrench is about half the width of a tooth.The part 19 of the sleeve-like wrench element 3 located below the slidebar 4 is preferably knurled so as to enable the coarse adjustment to becarried out more easily. The spring 8 is preferably a wire spring andengages in a V-groove in the slidable bar 4 in such a manner that, whenits groove 16 is in register with the rail 17, the bar cannot be pressedinto engagement with the set of teeth 2 by the spring 8.

For the purpose of making a fine measurement, the slidable bar 4 maycarry a mark 4a which cooperates with a scale 3b provided on the frameof the window 18 in the sleeve-like element 3. The mark 4a then enablesa fine reading to be taken, for example in tenths of the unit of thescale, in a similar manner to that rendered possible with a scale.

I claim:

1. A hand tool with coarse and fine adjustment of the jaws, comprising ahandle member having an inclined set of teeth extending across a flatside thereof, a jaw formed on one end of said handle member, a sleeveelement surrounding the handle member and shiftable in the longitudinaldirection thereon, said sleeve element having a jaw formed thereoncooperating with the firstmentioned jaw on the handle member to form therelatively movable jaws of the tool, a fine adjusting means comprising aslidable bar shiftable in said sleeve element at an angle to the set ofteeth on said handle member, said bar having a set of teeth thereoninclined to correspond with the set of teeth on the handle member, aspring in said sleeve element to urge the two sets of teeth inengagement with each other, said bar being provided with a grooveextending crosswise with respect to the bar and parallel to a railprovided lengthwise on the sleeve element for insertion into each other,so as to allow a lifting of the bar and disengagement of the set ofteeth for a coarse adjustment of the jaw spacing when the bar has beenmoved in its extreme shifted position.

2. A hand tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the sets of teeth andthe direction in which the slidable bar is shiftable form an acute anglewith the direction of the jaw aperture, and the fine adjustment range ofthe sleeve element is about one-and-one-half times the width of theteeth of the set of teeth on the handle piece.

3. A hand tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein a spring bent in U-shapeis provided which bears against the side flank of the slidable bar onthe sleeve element.

4. A hand tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein a measuring scale isprovided on the fiat side of the handle piece at the edge remote fromthe side from which the jaw projects and a reading mark is provided forthe scale formed by the end edge of the sleeve element.

5. A hand tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein a spring is providedwith a pin bearing against the front face of the handle piece and in thesleeve element near the jaw opening.

6. A hand tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the slidable bar isprovided with a mark and the sleeve element has a window-like apertureprovided with a scale on its upper boundary cooperating with the mark onthe slidable bar for taking a fine reading of the adjustment of theslidable jaw according to the displacement of the slidable barrelatively to the sleeve element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 76,519Petrie Apr. 7, 1868 529,632 Smith Nov. 20, 1894 1,040,464 Townsend Oct.8, 1912 1,082,112 Cutler Dec. 23, 1913 1,397,214 Hose Nov. 15, 1921FOREIGN PATENTS 166 Great Britain of 1900 217,023 Switzerland Jan. 16,1942

